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Viking Lake

General Information

County: Montgomery
Location: 4 miles east of Stanton
Acres: 136.00
Maximum Depth: 42.3 ft. (2018)
Motoring Restrictions: No Size Limit at No Wake

Nearby Parks

Viking Lake State Park

Amenities

Amenities at Viking Lake include:
  • Boat Access
  • Fishing Jetty
  • Picnic Area
  • Beach
  • Trails
  • Accessible Facilities
  • Playground
  • Restrooms
  • Camping
  • Good/Excellent Shorefishing
  • Hard Surface Boat Ramp
  • Accessible Shoreline
  • Fish Cleaning Station

No recent updates

Lake Maps

Download Printable Lake Map
Download Printable Fishing Structures Map

You can zoom in on the map for bathymetric information for some lakes

  • 5/5/22 - 90,000 Walleye (Fry)
  • 09/20/2021 - 1,952 Channel Catfish (9.2)
  • 09/18/2019 - 1,900 Channel Catfish (8.8)
  • 05/03/2019 - 200,000 Walleye (Fry)
  • 05/07/2018 - 272,000 Walleye (Fry)
  • 9/11/2017 - 1,902 Channel Catfish (7.7")
  • 4/26/2017 - 177,950 Walleye (fry)
  • 09/08/2015 - 1,895 Channel Catfish (8")

  • Brittle Naiad
  • Curlyleaf Pondweed

The Fishing Regulations brochure is available for download. The summaries listed below are a partial listing provided for your benefit.

  • Black Crappie
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined black and white crappie, 25 fish
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: No daily limit on private waters
  • Bluegill
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: 25 fish
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: No daily limit on private waters
  • Channel Catfish
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined: channel, blue and flathead catfish, 8 fish
    • Possession Limit: combined: channel, blue and flathead catfish, 30 fish
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other:
  • Green Sunfish
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: none
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other:
  • Largemouth Bass
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined black bass, 3 fish
    • Possession Limit: combined black bass, 6 fish
    • Length Limit: 15-inch minimum
    • Other:
  • White Crappie
    • Season: Continuous
    • Daily Bag Limit: combined black and white crappie, 25 fish
    • Possession Limit: unlimited
    • Length Limit: none
    • Other: No daily limit on private waters

The water level at Viking Lake was lowered 8 feet during the summer of 2019 to restructure the fish population. The drawdown persisted through 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and had finally filled by spring, 2024. Largemouth bass fishing is one of the best in the area. 28% of the bass sampled in 2024 were over 15 inches and 20+ fish are found in the lake. The drawdown has not had the desired effect on the bluegill population yet as the 2024 fyke net sample yielded no bluegill over 8 inches. The crappie population consists of 9- to 12-inch black and white crappies. Though not many crappies were present in our nets, water temps did not drop like they normally do in the fall and were not contusive to a good panfish sample. Expect good crappie fishing during the spring and summer of 2024. (2024)

Tip: Click the arrow in the lower right corner to view the Fish Survey Data tool in full-screen mode.

Contacts

Iowa-Caught Fish Are Safe to Eat, In Almost All Cases

The vast majority of Iowa’s streams, rivers and lakes offer safe and high-quality fish that pose little or no threat to human health if consumed. Some limitations may apply for young children and pregnant women. Here’s a Fish Consumption Fact Sheet from the Iowa DNR and the Iowa Dept. of Public Health for more information.